Why your company values should be your compass for guiding benefits design

Over the past few years, the slow evolution towards employee empowerment was ramped into high gear as the world of work changed at a record pace. This movement has put employees in charge when it comes to getting what they want out of a job — and defining what that really looks like.

Our own research has found that employees are moving on from roles faster when they’re not satisfied. They are demanding more from employers and on the whole, are more savvy and aware of their options than ever before. As the proverbial tables have turned, new challenges have been created for people teams — along with a unique opportunity to remake policies to meet employees where they are and want to be in the new world of work.

One of the areas of People Strategy that this shift is impacting the most? Employee benefits. Gone are the days when employees would be willing to accept vague promises, stuffy offices, and inflexible schedules in exchange for job security. Gone too are the employers who took advantage of this by offering the bare minimum in benefits and expecting employee loyalty in exchange. Today, employees aren’t afraid to ask employers for the things they actually need — and we’re seeing more businesses actually listen and react. 

In Metlife’s Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study, the numbers speak for themselves: 62% of employees report that benefits are more important to them now than they were before the pandemic, and 60% are looking for a more diverse selection of benefits to meet their needs.

Read more: A diverse workforce needs diverse employee benefits

Unless you have endless resources, meeting employee expectations doesn’t mean you just throw as many shiny benefits at your people as you can. A better path — and one that will ultimately better serve your people and your business — is to do the organizational soul-searching required to understand the intersection of your employees’ needs and your company’s core values, and use that as your north star to optimize your policies.

Even in these tumultuous times, if you take the time to do that deeper work, and do it right, you should feel a sense of conviction around your policies and practices — and your employees will understand the why behind them. 

Make your benefits meaningful
Benefits have always been an important piece of the puzzle, but after two years of reassessing their priorities, employees are clearer than ever on what they want — and feeling more empowered than ever before to ask for it from their employers. But while the desire for high-impact benefits is universal, the specifics around what those benefits should look like is going to vary for everyone. So how do you find the balance between meeting more global employee needs and hyper-personalized ones?

Read more: A new HR search engine aims to be the Zillow of employee benefits

The reality is, you have to accept that you won’t be able to. There will always be more you could offer, and there will always be other companies that offer things your organization may not be able to. 

Instead of throwing everything at the wall so to speak to meet employee expectations or keep up with competitors, start by looking inward. Ask questions like: What’s driving our benefits decision-making, and what are our motivations? Are we offering the right benefits now? Are we being honest with ourselves about what those are? What are we optimizing for?

For example: Do you spend a lot of time in your organization talking about the importance of flexibility? Or are learning and development key to your company’s values? Then putting resources towards a flexible work-from-home policy or a generous learning stipend may be an authentic addition to your benefits approach. 

Asking these questions, and really holding ourselves accountable to the answers, can help realign your benefits policy with what really matters to your company as a whole, and provide a foundation to point to for the why behind what you offer.

Be intentional — and adaptable — in how you put your benefits into practice 
Once you have established the overall benefits policy that feels most true to your company values, you need to put benefits into practice in a way that feels intentional and operates as an extension of those values. Often, that will mean updating what you offer in response to new challenges — while continuing to stay true to that underlying philosophy. 

Read more: Small businesses are turning to employee benefits to retain talent

Like many companies, Lattice felt the impact of the pandemic firsthand as the team was hit with disruption, switching to fully remote overnight, isolation, and the overall mental toll of two years and counting of increased economic uncertainties.

We updated our benefits in a number of ways to address the pandemic, from WFH equipment grants to grocery stipends. But the most telling example of bringing our values to life through our benefits program came as the pandemic started to recede. One of our values is “What’s Next?” and it’s focused on striving for what’s on the horizon, and in the context of the Lattice experience, it compels us to focus on personal growth and future success — whether that’s at Lattice, or outside of it.

As we considered our deep belief in investing in our employee’s future, alongside clear feedback from our people around the importance of feeling increased financial security and stability after a few hard years, we made the decision to roll out a 401(k) matching program — coupled with personalized financial advisory services through Origin. This was a huge investment for a company of our size, but we knew it was the right one — and one that would ultimately make a bigger impact than any number of additions we could have made to our overall offering. To-date, 87% of eligible employees have participated in our 401(k) program. 

Getting it right
People teams can spend a lot of time and resources chasing the latest flashy benefit, or making incremental updates to their packages trying to respond to rapidly evolving employee needs. The best-case scenario? When new policies or benefits you roll out are met with genuine excitement — but not surprise. 

Read more: 3 steps to strengthen employee benefits using non-traditional data

You want your employees to think: "Of course, my company rolled out a new 401(k) match. We talk all the time about the importance of investing in employee growth both within the company and outside it." Or: "My organization rolled out extended family leave — one of our core values is to celebrate and respect the importance of our lives outside the office."

If you continuously ask yourself the hard questions around what matters to your organization and put in the work to find the answers, your benefits will feel intentional and authentic — and all the more meaningful to your people.